AS Roma are reportedly interested in a loan deal for Anthony Martial but Manchester United are likely to push for a permanent offer and demand £30 million.
According to a report by The Mirror, Serie A giants AS Roma have submitted an enquiry about securing a season-long loan move for French star Anthony Martial this summer. However, the Red Devils are likely to convince them for a permanent move and charge about £30 million for Martial.
Roma recently sold Mohamed Salah to Liverpool since they had to balance the books and are believed to have some extra cash in the till. Thus, they are hoping to sign a deal with Martial even though he could be surplus to their requirements.
Anthony Martial joined Manchester United on deadline day in the season before last for an initial fee of £36 million with at least another £20 million in add-ons. And during the initial days, he was hailed for his impressive performances and was seen as the person who could end United’s woes up front.
In his debut season, he recorded 31 league appearances, scoring on 11 occasions while providing another 4 assists. United lacked quality strikers at that point and Martial took up that responsibility really well. In fact, he was even dubbed as the next big thing at United but once Jose Mourinho took over, all of that changed for the 21-year-old.
Under the reign of Mourinho, Martial became an outcast of sorts. Martial is a naturally attacking player and that’s what he does best but he also needs to learn to pay heed to the defensive side of the game. Additionally, the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic pushed him further below the pecking order.
Jose Mourinho is known to never hold back on his opinions and he did publicly criticize Martial for making costly errors when he played last season. There were even reports of him telling the Frenchman to fight for his place at the club.
As things stand now, a move to join Roma seems like a good option for Martial considering Mourinho is not a big admirer of his which can see him get a negligent amount of playing time at Old Trafford. At 21, he needs to play as much as he can in order to develop further and this can be a golden opportunity to save his career.
On the flipside, a strong end to the 2016/17 season may just have changed Mourinho’s opinion of the player and pre-season will be a good indication of how things stand at Manchester United. It now remains to be seen if the Giallorossi are able to secure the services of Martial this summer.
